Drain valve



Patented Mar. 3, 1925.

UNITED STATES A 1,528,068 PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS A. MAIEL, lOF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO AUTOMATIC APPLIANOE COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF" MISSOURI.

DRAIN VALVE.

Application led. November 6, 1919. Serial No. 336,195.

To all whom it may concern. y

Be it known that I, Lnzwis A. MArnL,`a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Drain Valve, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to drain valves.

Y' An objectof the invention is to provide a novel and improved drain valve specially designed for use in connection with laundry equipment though not exclusively restricted to such use. Y

Another object of the invent-ion is to provide an improved drain valve'` having combined therewith novel and etlicient mechai nism for holding` the valve/'in closed position and capable of operation to permit the valve to open.

An additional object of the invent-ion is torprovide an improved drainvalve comn bined with a device for closing the valve capable of manual or automatic operation to permit the valve to open.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide an improved drain valve combined with novel controlling mechanism for: holding the valve closed and capable ofoperation to permit the valve to open as desired. A

There are various other obfects'which I desire to accomplish byV the improvements embodied in the invention and which do not requirespecilic mention, as the objects and means by which they are accomplished will be made obvious by the following description in which reference is made to the drawings, and in which: Y f

Fig. 1 is an elevation ofa drain valve mechanism embodying the invention.

V14",'Lg-2 is another elevation of the device having the gage tube mounted in a different position from that shown injF ig. 1. i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view. *illustrating important features of the invention. Fig 4 is a view illust-rating parts of the electric circuit wire connect-ions. Y

As shown, the present invention is in connection with a controlling mechanism and an electric relay mechanism, enclosedwithin the housing A. One form of `controlling mechanism vis disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,265,933, dated May 141, 1918,'and another form of controlling mechanism is disclosed in a co-pending application filed May 5, 1919, Serial No. 294,957; and the l*relay mechanism is disclosed in a co-pending application filed July 13, 1918, Serial No. 244:,- 753. Neither of said mechanisms is claimed herein, for which reason the'details thereof are not illustrated in the drawings, nos' specifically set forth in the description,

For present purposes, it is only necessary to understand that the mechanism herein shown and described is arranged to operate as hereinafter set forth. i

The water from the laundry tub (not shown) is admitted into a chamber 1 through a passage 2. The chamber 1 is provided with a discharge opening or outlet through which the water is discharged at the proper time, and said opening or outlet is controlled by a valve. Asv shown, the vdischarge opening or outlet is provided with a valve seat to and from which thevalve is movable to close and to open the outlet. The valve and the controllingmechanism for the valve are of novel construction and mode of operation and constitute important features of thel invent-ion. rPhe valve comprises a sleeve L1 having a circumferential flange 5. The sleeve 4: below the flange 5 is' exteriorly threaded and supports a disc 7 which carries and presses a gasket 6 against the valve seat 3 to close the outlet vpassage'. The disc 7 fits on the threaded end of the sleeve 4C and may be v'provided with projections 8 which may be engaged to hold the disc in position while assembling the valve.

A rod 9 extends through an opening in the upper end of the sleeve 4.- a-nd is capable of limited axial move-ment. A collar or flange l0 on rthe rod limits movement of the rod iii one direction. AV spring 11 encircles t-he rod 9 within the sleeve 4, theV upper end of the Vspring bearingagainst the end wall of the sleeve V4C and the lower end of the spring bearing against a. nut; 12 screwed onto the lower end of the rod; It is obvious that the upward movement 'of the rodV The upper end of the roc 9 is Y 14 having a bifurcated portion 15 supported on the pivots 16, an arm 17 extends from each branch 15 of the lever and the upper end of the connection 13 is secured to a connection 13 extending between the arms 17. lllhen the lever 14 is in it-s lower' position as indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3, the valve connections are lowered and the valve is permitted to open.

1n its lower position, the lever bears against a bumper 19 yieldingly supported by a spring O and a support 21. The bumper 19 being yieldingly supported relieves the shock when the lever 14 is thrown down from its upper adjustment to its lower position to enable the valve to open. ln the lower position of the lever, the flexible connection 13 bends between the flanges of a rotary guide member 2i..

The movement of the lever 14 to position to close the valve causes the spring 11 to be compressed and tensioned, so that the valve is hele pressed against the valve seat bv the power of the spring. lVhen the lever is in position to hold the valve closed, as shown in Fig. 3, the connection 1S is out of axial alinement with the rod 9 and the pivot 1G, so as to provide a toggle connection whereby the power of the spring 11 as well the weight of the valve and the valve connections are exerted to hold the lever 14 in its raised position. An adjustable abutment 23 is provided for the lever 14 so that the posi.- tion in which said lever will be stopped may be accurately regulated to insure that the valve will be securely held closed and at the same time be readily opened.

To prevent leakage through the valve a cup Q4 is pro-vided in connection with the sleeve 4, said cup being screwed onto the sleeve and preventing the leakage of water through the valve around the rod 9.

In order to indicate the depth of the water in the tub or other receptacle with which the device is used, a gage tube Q5 may be provided. The gage tube is shown at one side of the device in Fig. 1 and at another side of the device in Fig. 2, it being obvious that the gage may be located wherever desired. The gage opens into the valve chainber 1. A partition 26 is within the valve chamber and has a hole therethrough to permit movement of the rod 9 and to permit slow passage of the water from the valve chamber into the gage tube. The partition restricts the flow of the water and prevents the water from flowing too rapidly into the gage tube and into the pipe 27 to which the valve connections operate.

The mechanism set forth in the preceding description comprises a manipulative valve mechanism, since the lever 14 may be moved by hand as required to open and to close the valve. On so-me occasions it is desirable to trip the lever 14 automatically in order to permit the valve to open under a predetermined interval of time, or, under predetermined conditions. I have provided mechanism for effecting such automatic opera-tion of the lever 14. The mechanism for this purpose, as shown, comprises an armature plunger 28 movable by an electromagnet 29 in a. direction to move the lever 14 ay distance suliicient to trip the toggle conneetion and permit the valve to open. rlhe armature plunger 28 at its upper end supports a screw 30 extending through a. hole in one arm of a switch member 31. The switch member 31 is supported on a pivot 32 and has a contact member 33 at one end thereof movable into and out of contact with another contact member 34 as required to open and to close the circuit to the electromagnet. A spring 35 is supported between the switch member 32 and the plunger 2S.

A wire 36 leads from the contact member 33 to the magnet and the other wire 3T leads to the m'aenet from a connection 33.

A switch device B of any usual or known construction may be used to open and to close the circuit to the electromagnet in any usual or known manner. As the switch is a well known commercial arti-cle and as the details thereof constitute no part of the present invention, the construction of the switch is not shown, it being well understood that operation of an electric switch to one adjustment closes an electric circuit, and operation of the switch to another adjustment opens the electric circuit. This well known fact makes wholly unnecessary specific illustration of a well known commercial switch.

It is known that the controlling mechanism A is settable for operation to close an electric circuit comprising the wires 38 after any predetermined interval of time. The construction of the controlling mechanism is claimed in my said prior Patent No. 1,- 265,933, of May 14, 1918, and in my said application Serial No. 294,957, filed May 5, 1919, and is not claimed herein, it being sufficient for present purposes to know that the circuit through the wires 39 may be closed after any predetermined interval of time. Therefore, if the switch B be closed it is obvious that after a desired interval of time the circuit will also be closed by operation of the controlling device A. Then the circuit is completely closed by operation of the controlling mechanism A (it being understood that the switch B is set in closed position) the magnet 29 is energized with the result that the armature plunger QS is actuated outwardly a distance sufficient to force the lever 14 away from its position shown in Fig. 3. Such movement of the lever 14 is sufcient to carry the connection 13 to the left in Fig. 3 far enough to permit the valve to open, the lever moving by the weight of n with the member 34: ready for another operation.

`What is claimed is:

l. In a device of the character described, comprising a chamber having an outlet passage, a valve at the eiuent end of said passage foropening and closing the same and being movable to open position byrgravity and the pressure of the water in the chamber, a lever pivoted in approximatev alinement with the axis of said valve, an arm on said lever which is wholly on one side of said pivot in one position of the lever and which extends to the other side oi' the pivot in another position of the lever, a spring` bearing against said valve, and a connection from said spring to said arm whereby movement of said lever to said other position will move the valve to hold the same in closed position.

2. In a device of the character described, comprising a chamber having an outlet passage, aV valve at the effluent end of the passage or opening and closing the same and being movable to open position by gravity and the pressure of the water in the chamber, a lever pivoted in approximate alinement with the axis of said valve, an arm on said lever which is wholly on one side of said pivot in one position of the lever and which extends to the other side of the pivot in another position of the lever, a spring bearingV against said valve, a connection from said spring to said arm whereby movement of said lever to said other position will move the valve to hold the same in closed position, and an abutment for engaging and supporting the lever in position to hold the valve closed. y

3. A device of the character described, comprising a chamber having an outlet'passage, a valve at the efiuent end of said passage or opening and closing the. same and being movable to open position by gravity and the pressure of the water in the chamber, a spring for pressing said valve to closed position, a lever, a device connecting said lever and said spring vand having its point of connection with the lever movable across the line of the axis of the valve when the lever is moved in a direction away from the valve to place said'spring under tension, and means for supporting the lever in position to retain the spring under tension.

4. A device of the character described,

comprising a chamber having an outlet pas-- sage, a valve at the effluent end'oii' said passage Vfor opening and closing the same and being movable to open position by gravity and the pressure of the water in the chamber, a spring for pressing said valve to closed position, a lever, a device connecting said lever and said spring and having its point of connection with the lever movable across the line ofthe axis of the valve when the lever is moved in a direction away from the valve to place said spring under tension, means for supporting the lever in position to retain the spring -under tension, and

lmechanism for moving said leverfroni said position to enable said valve to open.

5. A device of the character described, comprising a chamber having an outlet passage, a valve'at the effluent end of said passage or opening and closing the same and being movablefto open position by gravity and the pressure of the water in the chamber, a spring for holding said valve in closed position, a device for tensioning saidv spring as required to hold said valve in closed position, a lever for operating said device 'as required to close said valve and to place said spring under tension, a connectionA between said lever and said device which is on one side of the line of the axis ofisaid valve when the valve is open and which is on the other side of said line when the valve .is'

closed, means for moving said lever in a direction to permit said valve to open, and an element Jfor supporting said connect-ion when said lever is in position to permit the valve to open.

6. A device of .the `character described, comprising a chamber having an outlet passage, a valve at the effluent end of said passage for opening and closing the same and being movable to open position by gravity and the pressure of theY water in the Chaniber, a spring for holding said valve in closed position, a device for tensioning said spring as yrequired to hold said valve in closed position, a lever for operating said device asV required to close said valve and to place said spring under tension, a connection between said lever and said device which is on one side of the `line of the axis of said valve when the valve is open and which is on the other side of said line when the valve is ilo closed, an adjustable support for supporting the lever in position to hold the kvalve closed, means for moving said lever in a direction to permit Caid valve to open, and an element for supporting said connection when said lever is in position to permitA the valve to open.

- 7. A device of Ythe character described comprising a chamber having an outlet passage, a valve rfor closing and opening said passage, a rod extending through said valve, a spring encircling said rod for pressing iso said valve to closed position, a lever, a ilexible connection between said lever and said rod whereby said lever when in one position will hold the valve closed, an electro-magnet and an armature device actuated by the electro-magnet for moving said leveil to position to permit the valve to open.

8. A device of the character described comprising a chamber having an outlet passage, a valve for closing and opening said passage, a rod extending through said valve, a spring encircling said rod for pressing said valve to closed position, a lever, a lienible connection between said lever and said rod whereby said lever, when in one position, will hold the valve closed, an electromagnet, an armature device actuated by the electro-magnet for moving said lever to position to permit the valve to open, and means for causing the electro-magnet to become deenergized as an incident to movement of said device.

9. A device of the character described, comprising a chamber arranged to receive water and having an outlet passage, a valve for opening and closing said passage and being movable to open position by the pressure of the water in said chamber, a. sleeve on said valve, a spring enclosed within said sleeve, a lever, a flexible connection from said spring to said lever whereby movement oi'r' the lever to one position will compress said spring and close the valve, a stationary element for holding said lever in said position, and an electric device for imparting initial movement to said lever from said posit'on to permit said valve to be opened by the pressure of the water in said chamber.

lO. A device or' the character described, comprising a chamber arranged to contain water and having an outlet passage, a valve for opening and closing said passage and being movable to open position by the pressure of the water in said chan'iber, a sleeve on said valve, a rod extending through said sleeve, a spring encircling said rod in said sleeve, an enclosure for said sleeve suppoi'ted by said valve, a lever, ar flexible element having one end connected to said rod and the opposite end connected to said lever, means for supporting said lever in position to cause said connection and said rod and aid spring to hold the valve in closed position, a support, and an actuator mounted in said support for imparting initial movement to said lever from said position to permit the pressure of the water in said chamber to move the valve to open position.

l1. A device of the character described, comprising a chamber arranged to contain water and having an outlet passage, a sleeve at the effluent` end of said passage for opening and closing the same and being movable to open position by the pressure oit the water in said chamber, a lever, aconnection from said valve to said lever whereby movement of thel lever to one position will close the valve and slight movement of said lever from said position will permit pressure of the water to open the valve, means for supporting said lever in the position in which the valve is closed, a support, and an actuator in said support for imparting movement ot said lever from said position to permit the pressure of the water to open said valve.

12. A device oit the character described comprising a chamber having an outlet passage, a. partition in said chamber having a hole therethrough, a. gage con'in'iunicating with said chamber on the opposite side of said partition from said outlet passage, a valve for opening and closing said passage, al rod in connection with said valve extending through said hole in said partition and leaving space for passage et water through said hole in any position ot said rod, 'and means for actuating said rod to close said valve.

13. A device of the` character described comprising a chamber having an outlet passage, a partition in said chamber having` al hole therethrough, a gage communicating with said chamber on the opposite side of said partition from said outlet passage, a valve for opening and closing said passage, a rod in connection with said valve extending through said hole in said partition and leaving space for' passage of water through said hole in any position of said rod, a lever, and a connection between said rod and said lever whereby movement of said lever to one position will actuate said rod to close said valve.

14C. A device of the character described comprising a chamber having an outlet passage, a partition in said chamber having a hole therethrough, a gage communicating with said chamber on the opposite side oi said partition from said outlet passage, a valve for opening and closing said passage` a rod in connection with said valve extending through said hole in said partition and leaving space for passage of water through said hole in any position of said rod, a lever, a connection between said rod and said lever whereby movement of said lever to one position will actua-te said rod to close said valve, means for holding said lever in position to hold the valve closed, and means for moving said lever from said position.

LEVIS A, MAPEL. Y 

